Blurred vision in 7-yo

[furtivefeline]

DD (7) has been complaining of blurred vision for the last few weeks when reading books and practising piano. She normally starts off OK but mentions the blurriness after a couple of minutes. It has put her off reading/piano and we have allowed her to stop both for now.

Now the COVID restrictions are easing, we've managed to get her an eye test. Apparently she is mildly long-sighted - around +1 in both eyes. The optician said this is fairly normal for her age and does not warrant a prescription for glasses as it should correct over the next couple of years.

Does this sound right? I've stopped the (remote!) piano lessons for now as she just can't practice, and we can stick to short, easy reading books. But this doesn't seem like a good solution and I was really hoping something could be done to help.

Are there any eye professionals around who could advise please? Would there be any downsides to trying glasses if I could persuade someone to prescribe them? Thanks in advance.

I would always correct eye sight with glasses . When problems with sight forces people (children) to stop doing things like reading (relevant for education) or playing music, drawing etc. it is not a good idea to hope they might grow out of it, what are they supposed to do in the mean time?

DS started out at +8 ! in both eyes - an extreme case, I know - the person we saw advised eye training and no glasses, too. Can you imagine the outcome for his education and life if we had followed this advice?
He is 17 now and at about +2 / +3.

I dont want to scare you, but have you had her checked for type 1 diabetes? Is she drinking more? It was one of my first symptoms, quite a rapid decline into very blurry eyesight.

I know prokup! I feel bad that she just has to put up with it given that we booked the eye test because of blurry vision. I don’t know whether to try a different optician or if they’ll all say the same.

I can’t believe your DS wasn’t given glasses with such a high prescription- that seems very extreme!

Thanks wolfgirrl I’ll keep a look out for excess thirst but she drinks very little at the moment so hopefully it’s not diabetes. I hope your sight loss was reversible?

Sadly not but they're stable now and with glasses I have 20/20 vision. If you have a brief read of symptoms on the NHS website you can keep an eye out, they vary from person to person. Dont mean to make you paranoid but best to be aware.

furtive I couldn't believe it either.
The treatment recommended is usually intended for pre schoolers and not for his age group 'late kindergarten'.It turned out the only thing he could really see was the full moon - not the house opposite, not my face, his face , his hands, his food (that got quite a problem - what are those things on my plate ...)

That doesn't sound right to me. My child needed glasses with a minor prescription and was told he needed to wear them diligently in the hopes of not needing them long term. We did this and he now no longer needs glasses. I'd get a second opinion.

Take her to the GP

Thanks mamafirst. I hate rocking the boat but I might try to speak to another optician and check. Did your child need glasses for distance or close up?

From what I can gather, like prokup says, they try to undercorrect long sightedness in very young children. For short-sightedness they are more likely to correct it fully.

@furtivefeline we were seen at the hospital, I believe the optician makes a referral back to the GP for hospital ophthalmology care in children. I think they were for distance, but he was told to wear them at all times. Sorry that's not terribly helpful, time flies!

Make sure her retinas are ok, mine started with blurred vision 20 years ago, best of luck.

Thanks Porridge oat but I’m really reluctant to bother the GP at the moment. I also think that since the eye test showed that she read the letters much more easily with the +1 lens it would make sense just to try glasses first.

Holothane thank you. I’m not sure whether he looked at the retina. He did say they could do a full exam with drops next time.

I don’t know whether the reluctance to prescribe is due to NHS funding restrictions on low prescriptions that might not be significant in all children. I would be willing to pay if so as DD is really quite bothered by the blurriness and we need to start a bit of reading again soon before she forgets how to!

Interesting responses!

I wouldn’t always prescribe for +1.00 in an 7yo. But there is clearly something going on visually, it may be to do with accommodation or the verge crossed system. But blurred vision isn’t normal in a child of that age. Could you pm me the area you live in and I’ll find you someone to sort it out / it’ll probably be after the 15th.

If this is still happening and you London based go to Moorfields they really are top notch there.

eye specialist here.
I agree with the optician about no glasses .
It sounds like it could be eye strain caused by a muscle weakness. very common and sorted by exercises.
The opticians are v skilled at picking up serious conditions so I wouldn't worry.
id ask for a referral to nhs orthoptics

underneaththeash thanks so much for your reply. I have PMd you. What is the verge crossed system?

Thank you IKEA888. That might make sense as it seems to happen more when she is concentrating hard rather than being present all the time. She also has low muscle tone along with hypermobility so I wonder if that could mean weak muscles in the eyes too... Would the eye strain be picked up on the standard eye test? I can try asking for a referral. I wonder whether non-emergency clinics are running at the moment.

Yes hypermobility does predispose you to convergence weakness.
it can be missed by an optician as they aren't eye muscle specialists .
seen it happen. lot.

IKEA888 wow that is interesting. Makes sense I suppose.

Would anyone mind explaining to me, because I am a bit confused, what is the difference between an orthoptist and a behavioural optometrist? I gather that they both help with eye muscle issues?

OP sorry about my typo - I meant vergence system (so eye muscles/covergence).
Usually oculomotor balance - a eye muscle check would be part of an eye examination. It could be quite subtle.

An orthoptist is a child vision specialist who usually works in a hospital, a behavioural optometrist is an optometrist who has done a course in behavioural optometry. You also get Optometrists who have done higher certificates in paediatric optometry (like me), often as part of a masters.

The gp won't be able to refer you to an orthoptist without a referral from the optometrist in the area you live. I'd go and see the person I suggested in my previous post.

Alternatively, you could contact the previous optometrist and ask if they checked both muscle balance and accommodation and if they did and it's normal ask for a referral. It's usually a long wait though for routine appointments and it's likely to be much longer in the current climate.

Thanks underneaththeash. When I first read about behavioural optometry it sounded like exactly the sort of thing that could help but it seems to have a few critics and I'm still not clear how much of it is based in science. I couldn't figure out if it is part of conventional "medicine" or more alternative.

I will speak to the optometrist and check about muscle balance and accommodation. I agree that we're unlikely to get a NHS referral any time soon - if at all, so if the blurriness persists it will be worth seeing someone privately (and thanks again for the recommendation!).

Yes, studies haven’t yet proven the benefit of behavioural optometry. But in it’s basic form it’s just eye physio therapy. Eye muscles are similar to other muscles in the body and therefore should respond to exercises.
It’s a little different for focussing though, accommodation is powered by zonules that Are different.
Orthoptists use exercises as do I and they sometimes work. Although I have yet to work out who they work for abd who they don’t.